T-CELL RECEPTOR GENE REARRANGEMENT ANALYSIS IN THE PRIMARY CUTANEOUS T-CELL LYMPHOMA

Object: The present paper is to evaluate the significance of T cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrange ments in primary cutaneous T cell lymphomas (PCTCL) as detected by analysis of Southern Blot (SBA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Patients and Methods: Skin specimens and peripheral blood samples were taken from 44 patients with PCTCL, including 30 patients with mycosis fungoides (MF), 2 patients with Sezary's syndrome (SS), and 12 patients with PCTCL other than MF and SS (PNCTCL). 11 patients with a presumptive diagnosis of MF, 23 patients with lymphoproliferative dermatoses including lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) and 8 patients with benign cutaneous lymphoid infiltrates were simultaneously studied by the amplification of junctional V (variable) J (joining) sequences of the rearranged TCRγ genes by PCR(TCRγPCR) and the analysis of TCRb chain genes by SBA(TCRβSBA) for detection of clonal gene rearrangements (GR). One lymph node specimen of a case with MF IIA was also detected by TCRγ PCR and TCRβSBA. Results: In MF, GR were detected by TCRγPCR and TCRβSBAb in 83.3 85.7% and 66.7% 71.4% of skin specimens of cases IIA IIB and in 57.1% 70.0% and 14.3% 10.0% of those of cases IA IB, respectively. GR were seen in 66.7% 71.4% and 33.3% 43.0.% of blood samples of cases IIA IIB, and 42.9% 40.0% and 0 10.0% of those of cases IA IB, respectively. GR was confirmed by TCRγ PCR and TCRβSBA in one lymph node showing dermato pathic lymphadenopathy of a case with MF IIA. In 11 patients of clinically suspected MF, GR were present in skin specimens of 5 cases (45.4%) and in blood samples of 3 cases ( 27.3% ) by TCRγ PCR. In PNCTCL, GR were found in 9 skin specimens (90.0%) from 10 patients detected by TCRγ PCR and in 6 skin specimens (75.0%) from 8 patients detected by TCRβSBA. GR were also seen in 6 blood samples (72.8%) from 11 patients detected by TCRγ PCR, and in 7 blood samples (70.0%) from 10 patients by TCRβSBA. In SS and LyP, GR were detected by TCRγ PCR and TCRβSBA in each of the two skin specimens of two cases with LyP and in each of the two blood samples of two cases with SS. GR were seen in one skin specimen of one case with SS and one blood sample of one case with LyP detected by TCRγPCR. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that TCRγ PCR is a rapid, more sensitive tool than TCRβSBA, can be used in the analysis of T cell clonality in skin, lymph node and blood samples of patients with PCTCL and indicated that this method forms a useful supplement to other methods for diagnosis of early and suspected MF, confirmation of PNCTCL and determination of extracutaneous involvement of lymph node and blood.

A PRIMARY OBSERVATION OF TPA EFFECT ON SSV-NIH3T3 CELLS IN SERUM-FREE MEDIUM

The effect of TPA, a potent tumor promoter, on SSV-NIH3T3 cells in serum-free medium was investigated. TPA stimulated DNA synthesis of SSV-NIH3T3 cells on the third day of culture in SFM. In SDS-PAGF of medium conditioned by TPA-treated SSV-NIH3T3 cells (in SFM+TPA), the amounts of four proteins of 31.0 Kd, 28.5 Kd, 25.5 Kd and 13.5 Kd strikingly increased over that of non-TPA-treated counterpart (in SFM). The PDGF-like activity was also detected in CM of SFM+TPA. When insulin and EGF were drown off the SFM+TPA (SFM-Ins-EGF+TPA), TPA lost its ability to stimulate DNA synthesis of SSV-NIH3T3 cells on the third day and SDS-PAGE of the conditioned medium showed that the amounts of the four proteins noted above grately reduced. However, cells in SFM-Ins-EGF+TPA were in almost the same growth condition as cells in complete SFM+TPA on the third day of culture. Results were discussed in the paper.

Integrated Single-cell Multiomic Analysis of HIV Latency Reversal Reveals Novel Regulators of Viral Reactivation

Despite the success of antiretroviral therapy,human immunodeficiency virus(HIV)cannot be cured because of a reservoir of latently infected cells that evades therapy.To understand the mechanisms of HIV latency,we employed an integrated single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq)and single-cell assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with sequencing(scATAC-seq)approach to simultaneously profile the transcriptomic and epigenomic characteristics of~125,000 latently infected primary CD4^(+)T cells after reactivation using three different latency reversing agents.Differentially expressed genes and differentially accessible motifs were used to examine transcriptional pathways and transcription factor(TF)activities across the cell population.We identified cellular transcripts and TFs whose expression/activity was correlated with viral reactivation and demonstrated that a machine learning model trained on these data was 75%-79%accurate at predicting viral reactivation.Finally,we validated the role of two candidate HIV-regulating factors,FOXP1 and GATA3,in viral transcription.These data demonstrate the power of integrated multimodal single-cell analysis to uncover novel relationships between host cell factors and HIV latency.